NEW YORK, Nov 7: The biggest US railroad project in a century could get under way next year and ease transport constraints from the primary US coal-mining region, a railroad executive said on Monday.

Construction on a three-year project to carry coal from Wyoming to Eastern power plants could start in late 2006 if an application for $2.5bn in US government loans is approved, said Kevin Schieffer, chief executive of privately held Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad.

“This is about a lot more than just coal. We have capacity problems all across the country,” Schieffer said on conference call with analysts. “Everybody’s service is going to improve as a result of this,” he said.

The railroad’s plan depends on a loan from the Federal Railroad Administration, part of a $286 billion transportation bill enacted earlier this year.—Reuters